Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.
Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.
Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.
In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption
Title: The Archived
Author: Victoria Schwab
Expected Publication Date: January 22, 2013
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN: 1423157311
Available for pre-order here:
My Review:
I received a ARC sneak peek of this book from Net Galley for an honest review.
Right from the blurb I knew I would enjoy this book, but I didn't know how much. The sneak peek gives you the first nine chapters of the book to read. I can tell you, it was not enough. So much so that I contacted the publisher and asked if I could get a copy (which is on it's way!). So a full review of this book will come shortly after I read the entire novel!
I have to say that when I first started reading the book I was a little lost. The book is told from Mackenzie Bishop's POV. She is a teenage girl who has recently lost not only her grandfather (Da) but also her brother (Ben). She is a Keeper and hunts Histories, shells of people who have died that are stored in the Archive but manage to escape into the Narrows. Mackenzie's POV bounces from present day, where she has recently moved with her family to The Corondo, and old hotel turned apartment building, to the past where she reflects on times she spent with her grandfather. It took me about two chapters to really understand why this was necessary, and then I was hooked.
The plot is a mix between paranormal and fantasy. Think The Chronicles of Narnia meets The Mortal Instruments. That right there is the makings of an amazing story line!
Schwab has an amazing writing style. It drips with forethought. The prose glide you along effortlessly, painting a picture of every scene and drawing you right in so you're standing there watching what is going on. I love when an author is able to do this.
Because I have not finished this book yet, I am not really going to go into much else. I know for a fact that I am going to love this book and if I had to foreshadow what my rating would be, I would say it's going to be no less than 4 stars.
This book sounds AWESOME Brooke...thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying it, Chris.
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